doomful

[ doom-fuhl ]

adjective

1. foreshadowing doom; portentously direful; ominous.

Other Words From

• doomful·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of doomful¹

First recorded in 1580–90; doom + -ful

Example Sentences

“But every day, there is also Thelonious, a chipmunk who sits down to eat in a world without a doomful election and a deadly virus,” she wrote.

From Fox News

Although the Marni designer Francesco Risso made claims to have been inspired by Edgar Allan Poe’s doomful plague allegory “The Masque of the Red Death,’’ the literary reference that came to this viewer’s mind instead was that moment in Renata Adler’s brilliant 1976 novel “Speedboat’’ when the narrator, Jen Fain, remarks that boredom implies duration.

From New York Times

The city remains safe; the lawless crack-and-squeegee days, for all the wishful predictions of Mr. de Blasio’s most dogged, doomful critics, have not returned.

From Washington Times

There was a time, not so very long ago, when any such doomful pronouncement would have sounded far-fetched.

From New York Times

His suits, resembling sports clothes and made from bonded cotton in the colors of a Bellini or other specialty cocktail, were inspired by the frenetic energy of Los Angeles, said the designer, who has perhaps overlooked the dark and doomful Dennis Cooper angle on that complicated city.

From New York Times

Related Words

• apocalyptic
• dangerous
• dark
• dire
• dismal
• gloomy
• grim
• haunting
• perilous
• portentous
• prophetic
• sinister
• threatening